Transgender Peoples’ Experiences of Religion and Spirituality

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the religious and spiritual experiences of transgender people. The study used an existing data set consisting of interviews from five self-identified Christian transgender participants, of which 1 was female-to-male, and 4 were male-to-female. Feminist phenomenology guided all aspects of this project. The results of the study suggest that participants felt a connection with a higher power, and specifically viewed themselves as made as transgender by God. However, the results of this study also indicated that transgender people feel conflicted about how others perceive them based on their (others') religious beliefs, with participants experiencing both supportive and discriminatory responses toward them.